Salazar’s stance on war funding and timetable
Last Thursday, I walked by Sen. Ken Salazar’s office on 15th Street and encountered peace demonstrators protesting his vote to authorize military spending for Iraq and to call for bringing the troops home on a timetable. To them, he should have voted “no.” I oppose the war and have done so from the start, but I sure don’t blame Salazar. It’s a pity that so many in the peace movement cannot accept that politics is the art of compromise and the art of the possible. Why go after Salazar? Why not head down to Colorado Springs and protest actions by Rep. Doug Lamborn, a war supporter?
We can expect to see a lot more of this at the Democratic National Convention. There won’t be a bunch of anti-abortion, pro-war protesters. The people in the streets will be the folks on the far left, for whom nobody is good enough, who cannot accept that in the USA, you get elected by playing to the middle, and who don’t understand what it takes to actually get something done in the real world.
The proverbial cliche remains so meaningful: Democrats, or the left side of the political spectrum, line up for a firing squad in a circle. The right, though certainly not monolithic nor without internal conflicts, sees much less of this. That’s why they so often get their people elected. Last year, when for a short time the right lost unity, the Democrats won Congress. Let that be a lesson to people like me who want to end the war and elect a Democratic president in 2008.
Gary Sprung, Denver
. . .
I would beg to differ with Sen. Ken Salazar’s statement, in his letter to President Bush, that “both Democrats and Republicans in Congress fully support our troops.” The facts do not show this to be the case. On the contrary, the Iraq Study Group and Senate resolutions do not show support for the troops. If anything, such defeatist schemes do nothing but undermine our mission in Iraq and embolden the enemy to win. A “successful conclusion” to the war is not attained by calling for our defeat, as Sen. Salazar would have it. That is not an option.
Brian Stuckey, Denver
. . .
Sen. Ken Salazar need not look to Washington to find what he terms “dividers.” He can look in his own state to me for one.
There is an old saying that goes something like this: “If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck.” And I say if it looks like a mushy, double-talking politician, runs away when things get rough, and quacks like a cut-and-run coward, well, it probably is a cut-and- run coward.
I served in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry, in 1968 and ’69. I would rather have the support of my tough buddies on the ground helping me against an enemy than any talk by phonies who say they support the troops but don’t want to send any more help. If one gets in a war, it should only be to win and no other reason.
And if these phony politicians don’t have the guts or stomach to do that, they ought to be honest and just say it. Otherwise, to me, they are just stabbing the troops in the back and doing our nation no good.
Frank Galmish, Denver
Can teens be trusted to make right decisions?
It’s prom season, and we all know what that means: the usual chaos over finding a dress, a date and a hairdo. We also know that somewhere in the midst of the hysteria, teens will be getting that well-worn lecture about why sex, drugs and alcohol are a bad idea on prom night. Of course, such precautions are well-intended in light of the tragic stories about teens who party too hard and soon feel the consequences of their actions. This message is one that needs to be heard. At the same time, the teens I know seem to understand these dangers, and make a point of avoiding them. Partying is not the only thing that most of us are concerned about. Maintaining good grades and getting into college also rank high on the list. If we can be trusted with these decisions, haven’t we proven ourselves capable of making wise choices? In short, most teens have good judgment and do not need to be saved from themselves.
Monterey Buchanan, Denver
Reforming state’s oil and gas commission
House Bill 1341, which seeks to reform the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, is essential and good government. The current composition of the COGCC requires that five of the seven seats be filled with members who have “substantial” oil and gas industry experience. The result of this commission’s pro-development bias is a frenzy of drilling without sufficient safeguards or standards to protect air, land and water from excessive pollution and disruption.
Surface owners’ property rights and residents’ health in the Piceance Basin have been unnecessarily compromised. With 30,000 active wells and 30,000 more expected in the next few years, Colorado needs a commission with member-experts in public health, local government, wildlife/environment, agriculture, and soil conservation/reclamation. HB 1341 will add this expertise to COGCC while retaining three experts from the oil and gas industry. Changing from a seven- to a nine-member commission will not create an unmanageable bureaucracy or a regulatory behemoth.
Let’s hope that our state senators can recognize the fallacy of arguments by oil and gas developers who believe that reforming the COGCC will so hinder oil and gas development that industry will invest elsewhere. COGCC reform will not cause industry to abandon trillions of cubic feet of known gas reserves in Colorado and billions of dollars in profit. What reform might accomplish is better-planned energy development that safeguards the health, safety and welfare of our communities while providing reasonable access to oil and gas through mandatory best management practices.
Charles Kerr, Grand Junction
“Bear-proof” containers
Re: “Vail aims to keep a lid on bear woes,” April 9 news story.
I had a laugh when I read about Vail pushing “bear-proof” containers for $179. I lived, and my family still lives, in bear country in western Maryland. The only bear-proof container they’ve found is a dumpster with a latch which requires good finger dexterity to open. I’m reminded of a joke about squirrel-proof bird feeders. The punch line is: “How much time does the inventor spend on his feeder? Maybe a max of 10 hours. How much time does the squirrel spend figuring out how to get in? As long as it takes.”
Larry McLaughlin, Aurora
Denver’s Union Station
I have read several reports quoting RTD board members as defending the two-block-plus walk between light and commuter rail at Union Station by stating that people have to walk that far at airports. Has the fact occurred to them that this is not a valid analogy, as the passengers at airports are not walking this distance on a daily basis, as will most of the passengers using the Union Station transfer?
R. Williams, Broomfield
What about homeless?
Re: “Mayor dreams big; Donors come true,” April 1 news story.
I am intrigued by the article about Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s dream of fundraising in Denver.
As a homeless person, I am appalled at the lack of willingness to get the approximately 9,000 homeless who are on the streets of Denver off the streets and into low-cost rental housing, and either back to work or into their own small, home-based businesses. Most of those on the streets at present have been here for five or more years now, without any hope of becoming employed, let alone housed by any of the currently available city- or state-run assistance programs in Denver, or in Colorado. So when will we get off the streets? I hope it will not take a full 10 years to return to what everyone else presently enjoys – a truly good and dignified life.
Robert L. Love, Denver
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